The United States Mint released the 2025 Sacagawea gold dollar to honor the 25th anniversary of the first Sacagawea golden dollar that was struck in 2000.
These special half-ounce 24-karat gold proof coins were sold by the U.S. Mint directly to customers at a price of $2,175 each.
Only 7,500 were struck at the West Point Mint and sold out in short order.
As the gold Sacagawea coins are no longer available on the U.S. Mint website, the best way to buy a 2025-W gold Sacagawea dollar is to purchase one from a coin dealer near you or online.
Significance Of 2025 Sacagawea Dollar Coins
The 2025 Sacagawea golden dollar 24K gold coin honors the 25th anniversary of the first Sacagawea dollars that were struck in 2000.
Those first golden dollars were historic in the context of the United States monetary system.
Here’s why…
U.S. Golden Dollar Broke The Mold
The 2000 Sacagawea dollars were the first circulating golden-colored dollar coins ever struck.
They were made many years after the initial run of the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which was originally struck from 1979 through 1981, but failed to catch on in circulation.
Many attribute the failure of the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin to its similarity in appearance and feel to the U.S. quarter.
There were proposals during the early 1980s to strike the Susan B. Anthony dollars in a golden-colored composition to give the coin a distinctive appearance in circulation, but that never happened.
A few years later, Canada revolutionized its dollar coinage by releasing the golden-colored Loonie dollar coin.
By the mid-1990s, policy leaders in the United States began talking about issuing a new dollar coin. Many pointed to the successful example of the Canadian dollar and similar coins from other nations for inspiration.
Eventually, the decision was made to strike a new dollar coin with a golden color and a smooth edge to help it stand out from the quarter — in terms of its overall appearance and feel in the hand.
2000 Golden Dollars Make History
The 2000 Sacagawea dollars were released in a gala fashion.
The U.S. Mint spent big money on a promotional campaign to educate the public about the benefits of using the new dollar coin. Big-box department stores made announcements that they were both accepting the new coin in cash transactions AND giving them out in change. Car dealers gave them out for free to people who visited their lots and test-drove cars.
General Mills even ran a special in which 5,500 Sacagawea dollars were included — for free — alongside 10 million 2000-dated Lincoln pennies that were also being offered in specially marked boxes of the popular Cheerios breakfast cereal. These so-called 2000 Cheerios pennies and 2000 Cheerios dollar coins are worth big bucks now!
Ultimately, the Sacagawea dollar didn’t garner much pull in circulation and was later discontinued as a circulating coin. Some believe that continuing the use of dollar bills gave the American public an easy out, opting for folding money over the new coin. Maybe they’re right.
But the long and short of it is the Sacagawea dollar didn’t perform as so many hoped it would.
Yet the coin still managed to make history with its beautiful portrait of Shoshone woman Sacagawea carrying her infant child, Jean-Baptiste. The design, appearing on the heads side (or obverse) of the golden dollar, was created by engraver Glenna Goodacre. On the tails side (reverse) is a soaring depiction of a flying eagle by Thomas D. Rogers.
Bringing Back A Classic Coin
The 2025 gold Sacagawea dollar reunites these two designs (Sacagawea and the soaring eagle) — which hadn’t been seen together on the same coin since 2008.
The resurrection of the original Sacagawea dollar design on a gorgeous, limited-edition half ounce gold coin of .9999-fine purity excited coin collectors around the United States.
The 2025-W gold Sacagawea dollar has therefore become an important collectible, especially for those who love this groundbreaking coin series.
Are All Sacagawea Dollar Coins Made From Gold?
It’s a common misunderstanding. Many people think that all Sacagawea golden dollars are made from gold. After all, they LOOK like they’re made from gold. They’re heavier than many other circulating U.S. coins. And the Sacagawea dollar even has “gold” in its popular “golden dollar” nickname.
Therefore, your Sacagawea dollar is struck from gold, right?
Unfortunately, most Sacagawea dollars are NOT made from gold. Rather, they’re struck from a manganese-brass clad composition. This base-metal cladding includes the manganese-brass outer layer (approximately 77% copper, 12% zinc, 7% manganese, and 4% nickel) on a pure copper core.
Why was this exact metal composition used?
Because it gives the Sacagawea dollar coin a golden appearance while still offering the properties necessary to work in vending machines and other coin-operated devices. The coin is also electromagnetically identical to the Susan B. Anthony dollar!
How To Tell If You Have A Gold Sacagawea Dollar
Not only is there the 2025-W 24-karat gold Sacagawea dollar, but there were also a dozen 2000-dated 22-karat gold Sacagawea dollars that were launched into space aboard a Space Shuttle Columbia mission in 1999.
These 22-karat (.9167-fine) gold coins were stored at Fort Knox for a time after their return to Earth — before being exhibited around the country in different museums and at coin conventions.
Remember, virtually all Sacagawea dollars are NOT made from gold. Instead, they’re struck from manganese-brass clad.
These manganese-brass clad dollar coins weigh 8.1 grams, and their weight can be verified by use of a good digital coin scale.
Conversely, the 24-karat gold Sacagawea dollar weighs .500 troy ounce (or approximately 15.55 grams). That’s nearly twice as much as a standard Sacagawea dollar!
If you need another way to tell the 2025 gold Sacagawea dollar apart from regular 2025 Native American dollars, all you need to do is look at the design.
On the obverse of the gold proof is the “W” mintmark under the date, denoting the coin’s origin from the West Point Mint. The reverse of the 2025 gold dollar shows the classic soaring eagle design, whereas the regular 2025 Native American dollar features a portrait of Hawaiian hula expert Mary Kawena Pukui.
Be sure to take note of the information here on the proper weight and design of the 2025 gold Sacagawea dollar. Using this information, you should know pretty quickly if you have the rare and valuable 2025 gold dollar worth big bucks or the more common 2025 Native American dollar worth approximately face value.
